


The Rough Nights, Ain't Leaving (So Why The Hell Should We?)

by meggidarling



Series: Like Real People Do (Library! AU) [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Dialogue Heavy, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mollymauk Tealeaf's Backstory, Multi, Nonbinary Mollymauk Tealeaf, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 08:10:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17403251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggidarling/pseuds/meggidarling
Summary: “Hello, tiger lily.” Caduceus said, but Caleb could tell something was off with him.“What’s going on, sweet pea?”“You’re almost as perceptive as me, Mr. Caleb.” Caduceus huffed out a laugh, before becoming serious again. “Are you free to come over? I- uh- Molly needs you.”\\Molly shuts down on the anniversary of the day they dug their way out of their own grave. Caduceus and Caleb help them//





	The Rough Nights, Ain't Leaving (So Why The Hell Should We?)

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings!  
> Molly is non-verbal for a chunk of this fic. Molly's backstory is similar to that of canon, so if any of that bothered you, this might as well.

__  
It was a cold January evening when Caleb got the call from Caduceus. He was sitting on his couch, Frumpkin in his lap and a book in his hand. He was planning on having a relaxing evening, maybe take a bubble bath. (Molly got him into bath bombs. He’s taken more baths in the past eight months of their relationship than he’d ever had. He was glad that Jester and everyone else from the library knew about Molly and Caddy now because there was no way he could have hid the floral smell that seemed to follow him now).

“Caddy!” Caleb chirped, answering the phone on the second ring. “Hallo, mein honigbiene. How are you?”

“Hello, tiger lily.” Caduceus said, but Caleb could tell something was off with him. 

“What’s going on, sweet pea?” 

“You’re almost as perceptive as me, Mr. Caleb.” Caduceus huffed out a laugh, before becoming serious again. “Are you free to come over? I- uh- Molly needs you.”

Anxiety was an ice pick going through his chest. “Are they okay? Are they hurt?” 

“That’s a tricky question to answer, sunflower. Physically, they’re fine. They’re just having the worst brain day I’ve seen them have since this time last year.” 

Caleb had questions, of course, he did. But Molly needed him, and there was no time to waste. 

“Me and Frumpkin will be there in ten.”

~*~

Caduceus opened the door before Caleb even had time to knock. The firbolg looked exhausted, hair in a messy ponytail and already in his pajamas, but he still looked happy to see Caleb. 

“Hiya, sunflower.” He drawled, bending down to kiss Caleb’s lips gently. “Thanks for coming.”

“Where’s Mollymauk?” Caleb asked, catching Caduceus’ hand in his.

Caduceus nodded his head towards the ceiling. “Upstairs, taking a bath. I must warn you, they’re pretty non-verbal.”

“Should they be alone?” 

Caduceus shook his head. “Yasha is up there with them, but she has to leave in a few moments.”

Caleb nodded but did not say anything else, allowing Caduceus to pull him upstairs to the main bath. He could hear Yasha’s murmurs and gentle music, but it was still silent compared to the usual noise that followed Molly. 

He couldn’t hear the sound of Molly’s jewelry clanking together, nor could he hear the shuffling of their tarot cards. The radio was not playing something loud and catchy, nor was Molly singing or laughing or speaking. 

It made Caleb uneasy. 

“Ms. Yasha?” Caduceus said gently when they moved through the bedroom and into the bathroom. “Caleb is here. If you have to head out, don’t worry. We’ll take good care of them.”

Yasha, who Caleb could now see leaning over the tub, stood and turned to face the pair. She was dressed nice, and it was clear that she was planning on going out. “Are you sure, Deuces? This is the worst I’ve seen Molly ever.” 

Caduceus forced another smile. “Please, Yasha. Molly will only feel worse if they come to and learn that you missed your date with Beau for them. Me and Caleb will call you if anything gets worse.”

Yasha, though she looked torn, agreed. She nodded at both Caleb and Caduceus before she was out of the room. 

“Now, while Molly might not speak, it will help if you talk to them. I also don’t know how you’re feeling about physical affection, but that will help them a lot. If not, I’ll take care of it, but they would love affection from you.”

“I’m okay. Anything they need.” 

Caduceus nodded, leading Caleb into the bathroom. The sight he saw almost made him want to cry on his own.

Molly was seated in the center of the tub, pink water surrounding them. Their knees were drawn up to their chest and their head was rested on them. Their ears and horns were free of jewelry and their once-immaculate nail polish was chipped. What really threw Caleb off, however, was Molly’s face.

Caleb had seen Mollymauk without makeup before, but this was different. Instead of their face being fresh, clean, and somehow still glowing, radiant and beautiful, Molly’s skin looked dull and tired, like they hadn’t slept in days, if not weeks. And ‘makeup free’ wasn’t the right term. Black was streaking their cheeks and smudged around their eyes. Their beautiful ruby eyes were fixated on the deep purple wall in front of them, unmoving and barely blinking.

“Lavender?” Caduceus said, squatting in front of Molly. “Caleb is here, my love. Are you ready to move into bed instead? The water must be getting cold.”

Caleb, following Caddy’s example, also squatted in front of the tiefling, doing his best to keep his voice light and calming like the firbolg’s. “Hallo, Mollymauk. How are you doing, mein engel?”

Molly’s eyes snapped to Caduceus, and then to Caleb. “Empty.”

Caduceus let out a deep breath that Caleb knew well enough as a sound of distressed from the usually calm firbolg. 

Before Caleb could ask, Molly reached out a shaky hand and tapped Caleb’s wrist with two fingers.

“They’re asking if you’re okay with touch, I think.” 

“Ja, Mollymauk, whatever you need.”

"Empty."

Molly was out of the tub in a second, flinging themself into Caleb’s arms. The human was thankful that Caduceus was quick enough to stabilize him or he would have fallen and taken Molly with him. 

The firbolg helped them both up before handing Caleb two pairs of pajamas. “One is for Molly, and the other is for you. You must be soaked.” 

Caleb nodded in thanks before tapping Molly’s back. “Can you let go, Molls? We have to dry you off and get you into some pajamas. You’ll catch a cold.”

Molly whined but pulled away from Caleb. They swayed slightly while Caduceus dries them off with a fluffy purple towel that he pulled from the closet. They then pull on their pajamas, sighing happily when they smell the clothes that are very clearly Caduceus’. The firbolg guides them to bed and motions for Caleb to change.

Now that he didn’t have Molly pressed into him, he could feel the water cooling against his skin. He pulled on whatever was given to him quickly, too worried about Molly to feel self-conscious about his scars. 

When Caleb was done changing, he turned back to see Caduceus and Molly laying in bed. Caleb decided to lay on Molly’s other side, sandwiching them in as much affection as he could. Caleb clicked Frumpkin into existence and allowed the cat to curl up on Molly’s chest.

The trio remained quiet for a while. Caleb hummed a song from his childhood, fiddling with Molly’s damp curls. Caduceus traced shaped on the back of the tiefling’s hand. He tried to use his steady breath to keep Molly’s own breathing calm. 

After what felt like a year but was probably closer to forty-five minutes, Molly became more responsive. They pet Frumpkin and nestled into their boyfriends’ arms, sighing happily. At the hour mark, they cleared their throat. 

“Caddy, Caleb. I…” They paused, words slowly coming back to them. “I exist, right? This isn’t some, false reality, is it? We’re here?” 

Their voice was weak and tired, but at least they were speaking.

Caduceus kissed the top of their head. “You exist, I exist, Caleb exists, all our friends exist. This is real, Lavender, I promise.”

Molly nodded slowly. “Okay, okay, okay.” They say, mostly to themself. “I’m real. We’re here.”

“Ja, that’s right. We’re okay, mein liebling.” Cale said, nuzzling his face into Molly’s neck. 

Slowly, after a lot more cuddling, Molly’s eyes cleared, and their posture changed. It was clear they were exhausted, but they were more alert. “Wow, that, that was bad.” 

Caduceus nodded, resting his chin on Molly’s head. “I’m not going to lie to you, Lavender, you scared me.” 

“I want to sleep, but I think we should talk.” Molly said, but they were already dozing.

“Why don’t you sleep, my love. Caleb and I will be here in the morning and we can talk then. Right, dandelion?” Caduceus said, petting Frumpkin, who was still resting on Molly’s stomach. 

Caleb nodded. “Ja, Frumpkin and I will be here in the morning. I can ask someone to cover for me at the library tomorrow.” 

Molly nodded sleepily. “Okay.”

They were out in a minute.

Caleb and Caduceus looked at each other over their head. Caduceus smiled at the human before pulling a blanket over them.

"Goodnight, Tigerlily."

"Goodnight, mein liebling." 

~*~

The next morning, Caleb woke up to Frumpkin kneading his stomach and headbutting his face. His eyes fluttered open and he kissed his familiar’s nose. “Hallo, Frumpkin.” 

“Well, that’s a nice sight to wake up to, Mr. Caleb.” He heard Caduceus chuckle next to him, causing Caleb to look over at the firbolg, a blush warming his face. “You’re very cute when you’re sleepy, sunflower.”

Caduceus was smiling at the human over Molly’s purple mess of curls. The tiefling was still asleep but based on the faces and tiny noises they were making, they would be waking up soon. 

Sure enough, purple eyelids blinked open, revealing sleepy red eyes. They looked bleary, but better than they did yesterday. A gentle smile pulled across their lips. “Hiya.” 

“Hallo, mein leibling,” Caleb said, pressing a kiss to their forehead. “How are you doing?”

Caduceus pressed a matching kiss to the top of their head. “Maybe we should get some tea for this conversation?” 

Molly nodded. “Maybe we should.” They sat up. “Can we make crepes too?” They asked, bouncing happily. 

“Of course, Mollymauk.”

“Woo! I’ll meet you both downstairs, I just wanna wash up.” Molly jumped out of bed and opened their arms. Frumpkin, with a little wiggle of his butt, jumped into their arms. In a moment, the pair disappeared into the bathroom. 

Caduceus stood and stretched before turning to Caleb. “Let’s go get the water on, sunflower.” 

Caleb, though he wanted to bask in the warm glow of domesticity just a little bit longer, stood. He pulled Caduceus into a brief kiss before the pair moved down the stairs. Caduceus put on some music he knew that Molly would love before getting out the supplies for breakfast. 

Caleb and Caduceus moved around each without needing to speak, coexisting in the kitchen with gentle movements and easy silence. Caduceus would slip things into Caleb’s hand without the human even having to ask. 

Molly came down a few minutes later. Their hair was pulled into a messy bun and their face was clean and moisturized. They looked alive in a way they did not yesterday, a large grin on their face and Frumpkin scarfing around their neck. 

“Hm.” They hummed, smelling the tea that Caduceus slid them. “I love waking up to you both here. Maybe we could do it again sometime, maybe under better circumstances?” Molly looked at Caleb hopefully.

The human blushed and nodded. “Anything for you two, my love.” 

Within a few minutes, the trio was sat around in the living room, plates piled high with crepes and cups filled with tea. Caduceus was sat on the floor, back leaning against the coffee table so he could face Molly and Caleb. Molly and Caleb were sat on opposite ends of the couch facing each other, legs outstretched and tangled together. 

“So, I guess I should tell you what that was all about, huh?” Molly said once they had finished their crepes. They were clutching their mug in their hands and their tail was flicking nervously behind them.

“Ja, if you’d like,” Caleb said, nudging Molly’s leg with his foot. “Or we can snuggle in bed and I won’t ask any questions.”

Molly shook their head, curls swinging. “No, no, I want to do this. I just like to… pretend it didn’t happen, so talking about it is a big change.”

Caduceus reached up and grabbed Molly’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You can do this, lavender.”

Molly nodded and looked back to Caleb before they opened their mouth. “Four years ago, to the day yesterday, Yasha found me in a shallow grave on the side of the road.” 

Caleb gasped but did not say anything else, so Molly kept going.

“My first memory, my oldest memory is dirt in my face, underground, then Yasha pulling me out. I had no memories of who I was. The only thing I could say was ‘Empty,’ I was covered in scars and these red ovals." They tapped one of the eyes of their peacock feather tattoo. 

“Yasha brought me to the circus, and we built me a life. Gustav, the carnival director, took the initials M.T. because it sounded like empty and gave me a name. I wondered who I was before the accident, wondering if I had a family, for a while. Then I met Caduceus, and I realized that I have a family with Yasha, and Caduceus, and the carnival. So, I stopped caring, even after the carnival was dissolved and we moved here, I was so happy to be Mollymauk Tealeaf, I didn’t care about anyone else. I made this body my own, with tattoos and long hair.”

Molly moved Frumpkin into their lap, petting the cat in an attempt to calm themselves now.” 

“Some tabaxi woman came into the Blooming Grove a year or two ago came in, calling me Lucien and Nonagon, using the wrong pronouns. Claimed that I was some weird blood-magic hunter cult or, I don’t know what it was, but they tried a ritual and I- the person who owned this body before me died.”

Molly looked at Caleb with big eyes, urging him to understand, worried he would react poorly to the term cult.

“But that was not me. Whoever that was came to that end, and I want nothing to do with that or that cult or him. I don’t want anything from that other person anymore. That person is someone else. I don’t want anything to do with it." Their voice finally cracked, tears running down their face. "I- gods- Cay-” 

Caleb surged forward, grabbing Molly’s hands. “Shh, leibling, I know, I know. Thank you for telling me. You’re Mollymauk. It doesn’t matter who had this body before. All I care about is you.”

Molly, mindful of Frumpkin, pulled Caleb to their chest. “Every once in a while, like last night, I wake up and forget again. It usually doesn’t last long but reality seems wrong, I forget that I exist and I just feel empty. It’s the worst feeling in the world.”

Caduceus knee-walked over to them and put his arms around the pair. “We’ll be okay. We can keep each other in reality, right?”

Caleb nodded, pressing a kiss to Molly’s lips. “I love you, Mollymauk Tealeaf.” He turned to kiss Caduceus lips. “And I love you, Caduceus Clay. We’ll be okay.” 

Molly sniffled. “I love you both more than anything in the world.” They kissed Caduceus’ lips. “Can we just cuddle, and watch films all day? I was supposed to film, but I’m too tired.”

“Ja, I called out of work this morning as soon as Caduceus called me last night, so I’m all yours until tomorrow,” Caleb said, quietly excited he got to spend time with his significant others without the pressures of the outside world.

“And the shop can be closed for the day, I’d be too worried to probably work anyway.” Caduceus agreed. “Do you want to watch in the living room or the bedroom?”

“I vote bedroom. More room for cuddles that way. Isn’t that right, Frumpkin?” Molly said, squishing the familiar’s face in their hands gently. 

Frumpkin meowed back.

“He agrees with me. Let’s go!” In a flash, Molly was off the couch, Frumpkin chasing after their tail.” 

Caleb rolled his eyes, but stood up from the couch, helping Caduceus up as he went. “Let’s go, mein honigbiene, we have to cuddle unsere blume before they start whining.”

“I heard that, Widogast!”

 

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> Title from 'Welcome to the Family' by Watsky because I think it's a good Caleb/Caduceus/Molly song. 
> 
> Some lines that Molly said came directly from episode 14, 'Fleeting Memories.'
> 
> Caleb calls Caduceus 'honeybee' and Molly 'flower' in Zemnian (German) in this work
> 
> Let me know if there is anything you'd like to see in this series or just in general!


End file.
